TIFF24: Tyler's Time at the Festival

September 23, 2024

By:

Tyler Banark

For the third consecutive year, I attended the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). My first two years were filled with joy, friendships, and little sleep. To the surprise of no one, I got that again, and a little more. I intended to see 27 movies in the span of 9 days. Although I fell slightly short of my goal, as I saw 25 in that same amount of time, TIFF was still a blast, and having a press pass to help with certain films was helpful. I saw screenings from every corner of the festival, from the world premieres showcased in the Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall to the many compact auditoriums of the Scotiabank Theatre and TIFF Lightbox. I aimed to see various movies, not just the ones with big-name titles and star-studded casts. Here are my thoughts on everything I saw at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

I kicked the festival off with a press screening of Bird, starring Barry Keoghan. One of the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival, Bird, contains a good start that unravels into some weird moments in the second half. Keoghan gives the second-best performance of his career (behind Saltburn) while supporting star Franz Rogowski and newcomer Nykiya Adams compliment him. However, the use of Lo-Fi music was a bit off-putting, and the film's intentions didn't add up.

Fast forward hours later, I attended the opening night of Midnight Madness with a screening of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. As a movie I had strong feelings that I was going to hate, The Substance surprisingly worked for me. Not only does the leading trio of Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid work wonders, but the movie also makes a powerful argument for women's beauty standards in today's society. It also helps that I saw it with a Midnight Madness crowd, one of the best crowds you could experience while seeing a movie at TIFF.

On my first Friday, I started with Joshua Oppenheimer's narrative debut, The End. A sci-fi drama that also functions as a musical, it was an okay start to the day that was quickly forgotten. At least Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon gave noteworthy (no pun intended) solo numbers, and George MacKay had a pleasant tenor voice. That night, I had a double feature of world premieres in Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck and John Crowley's We Live in Time. Although The Life of Chuck worked for many TIFF-goers to the point where it won the People's Choice Award, it was slightly underwhelming for me. I personally thought the movie was very schmaltzy to the point where Flanagan was doing his impression of Steven Spielberg. For We Live in Time, I was not a fan of even though I love both the stars: Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. It is a very sappy movie that, without a doubt, was one of TIFF's biggest letdowns this year.

I finally got my first dose of solid cinema in Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner, Anora. Although I wasn’t a fan of The Florida Project, Anora worked for me as it contained a strong lead performance in Mikey Madison and a whirlwind of a script reminisced of the Safdie brothers’ Good Time and Uncut Gems. The euphoria I felt with that movie ended when I followed it up with Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. A film with a heart and lead performance in the right place, The Last Showgirl didn’t have much going for it other than acting as a hopeful career resurgence for Pamela Anderson. Luckily, my neutrality washed away with Ron Howard’s Eden. Dubbed his darkest movie to date, Eden sees a strong cast bringing out the worst in humanity in a true story thriller about a group of Germans living on a South American isle. Ana de Armas became the talk of the town here as her role paints her in a villainous light that we haven’t seen before.

Capping off the opening weekend were a couple of religion-infused thrillers in Edward Berger’s drama Conclave, followed by the Canadian premiere of Justin Kurzel’s action piece The Order, and the world premiere of A24’s new horror flick Heretic. Conclave was a rich drama featuring a solid cast led by Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Stanley Tucci. The Order dethroned Anora as the best of the fest up until that point, as Kurzel made a gritty action thriller that met my expectations to a tee. Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult led the movie with two mesmerizing performances that shouldn’t go unnoticed by moviegoers. Not only were the action and the acting the prominent points on display in The Order, but the subject matter focusing on a neo-nazi militant group that ran rampant in the Pacific Northwest made the movie more eye-opening. Heretic failed to keep the streak going, as it was an okay horror flick that featured a chilling Hugh Grant turn. It did showcase how much of a double-edged sword religion can be, but it doesn’t break the mold of other A24 horror outings.

As the latter half of the festival continued, my thoughts on the other movies I saw were vast and ever-changing. I got some awful outings in Relay, Queer, Nightbitch, and Oh, Canada, where the most vital thing they had going for them was the people working on them. Just because the cast and crew were of respected talent didn’t mean they were the saving graces. Lily James and Amy Adams played sour characters and gave unamusing turns in Relay and Nightbitch, respectively. Daniel Craig provides a good performance as an eccentric traveler in Queer, an otherwise dull film. My disappointment for it was immeasurable as Luca Guadagnino had this as his follow-up to Challengers, which is my favorite movie of the year thus far. Meanwhile, Oh, Canada sees Paul Schrader craft a drama about a man recalling his flees from the US to Canada during the Vietnam War as an unreliable narrator.

Films like Megalopolis and On Swift Horses fell towards the middle of the rating scale. Although vastly different, both had strong talent, like the aforementioned movies, but they were closer to being my cup of tea. Experiencing Megalopolis in and of itself was a fever dream, with an interview scene being precisely what I imagined it to be and performances that were all over the place in the best and worst ways imaginable. As for On Swift Horses, the cast of Jacob Elordi, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Will Poulter, and Diego Calva do what they can with a story that has no substance. A step above these two were The Assessment, Harbin, and Friendship, three more drastically different movies that worked slightly for me but weren’t enough to blow me away.

Then there were the movies that worked for me: Saturday Night, Babygirl, The Piano Lesson, The Brutalist, and The Wild Robot. Saturday Night was the best of TIFF 2024 with its star-studded cast that fit into their roles like a glove, layered with impeccable writing from Gil Kenan and director Jason Reitman. The energy was in the air at the TIFF premiere, and the audience ate it up. Babygirl and The Brutalist were also conversation starters at the fest as they were hot off successful world premieres at the Venice Film Festival and were immediately picked up by A24. I intend to see them again once they roll out in theaters because they demand the audience's attention and will get even more people talking about them. The Piano Lesson was a drama that had no business suddenly turning into a horror film in its climax, yet it worked masterfully. Lastly, The Wild Robot will be a major animated film this awards season.

Those nine days were a whirlwind for me, but it was the best kind. While I may have recovered my brain, eyes, and circadian rhythm from the ever-changing week, the movies and memories I made at TIFF 2024 will stick with me for a long time. The filmmakers who brought something to the Toronto table this year cooked a divine feast, and I honestly wished it didn’t end. If good things lasted forever, they wouldn’t be as precious. So thank you Toronto for another wonderful year, and I look forward to returning very soon!

FULL RANKING

1. Saturday Night(4.5/5)

2. The Order (4.5/5)

3. Anora (4/5)

4. The Wild Robot (4/5)

5. The Substance (4/5)

6. Eden (4/5)

7. The Piano Lesson (4/5)

8. Babygirl (4/5)

9. The Brutalist (3.5/5)

10. Conclave (3.5/5)

11. Bird (3.5/5)